I had a question about the 1948 rule and the senator that is challenging it. Would anyone be able to give any references, ie news articles, name of senator etc? One of my cousins would like to apply for italian citizenship but this rule renders her ineligible. Any information would be appreciated.

On the off chance there are people who are not familiar with the 1948 rule, the italian law on acquiring italian citizenship states that all those persons who were born after 1948 could only acquire citizenship thru the DIRECT PATERNAL FAMILY ASCENDANTS. Peter

Q. I've heard the law prohibiting women from passing citizenship to their children before January 1, 1948 has been overturned. Is this true?

A. NO! This has been confirmed by two Italian consulates. There was indeed a one-off decision by the Italian supreme court some years ago but it was subsequently overturned. As things stand, only children born to Italian mothers after January 1, 1948 are eligible.

As far as taxes, you HAVE to talk to a tax adviser as Peter says. I currently hold two citizenships, Venezuelan and American, both countries required me to pay taxes to them BUT they also have an interantional agreement to avoid double taxation of my income. THAT IS AN INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE US and VENEZUELA and I HAD to QUALIFY for it.